Printing plate mounting



Nov. 17, 1936. w. F. BRUGMANN PRINTING PLATE MOUNTING Filed OOt. 2'7,1953 Patented Nov. 17, 1936 UNITED smrss PATENT OFFICE 34 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in printing plate mountings of thetype in which the plate holders are mounted to move in grooves in thebase or support, the holders being first adjusted into close proximityto the edge of the plate and then given an additional or finaladjustment to grip and hold the plate in position.

The mounting of printing plates in connection with both fiat bed androtary printing presses has always presented a difiicult proposition.Plate control means for holding and registering such printing plateshave in later years, and in the more advanced devices, taken the form ofdiagonal grooves, in which grooves steel racks have been inserted, andthe various printers plate clamps have been designed to operate in theracks in these grooves for the micromatic control of such printingplates.

In the case of rotary printing presses racks have been permanentlyfastened in the diagonal grooves by means of pins, and Where pins areused as the rack securing means, the rack material must necessarily besoft enough for drilling so as to permit insertion of the fastening pin.

Another great objection in the present methods lies in the difficulty ofrepairs in case of mechanical injury to the teeth of the racks. Whensuch injury occurs, it is, in some cases, necessary to remove thecylinders from the press, remove the bearing rings, remove the fasteningmeans and. then drive or pull out the injured racks, replacing them withnew racks.

It is also sometimes necessary to drill out the pins in order to removethe racks, which is a difficult and tedious job.

To overcome some of these difiiculties and objections there is providedimproved means for removably securing the racks in position whichallows-first, the use of a hardened rack, giving greater strength andmore wear resistance. Second-a rack retaining means which permits easyconvenient repairing without the necessity of drilling out holding pins,removing cylinders and bearers to effect repairs, or the removal of theentire rack from the groove.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangementof the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed andshown in the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention, and inwhich Figure l is a top plan view of a portion of a printing plate baseand mounting, partly in elevation, partly broken away and partly insection, constructed in accordance with the principles of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is'an end elevation of Figure 1. 5

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale,of one form of fastening means for the rack and showing the racks inposition in the groove.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one form of fastening means.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, on a different scale, of anotherform of the invention.

Figure 6 is a View similar to Figure 5, of still another form of theinvention. 15

Figure '7 is a detail perspective view of the fastening means shown inFigure 6.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the numeral iii designatesgenerally a base or mounting provided with grooves l i opening throughthe face thereof and extending diagonally thereacross. These grooves areof any desired size and configuration and provided in the oppositeupright Walls of the groove are recesses l2 extending for the entirelength of the groove and through the ends of the wall.

These grooves l2 are spaced below the face of the plate and above thebottom it of the groove, and are of a size and configuration to receiverack members It. A portion of the rack members project into the grooveII and are provided with teeth It which are adapted to be engaged by theadvancing means of the register hook which cooperates With the base ormounting, and a portion of which moves Within the groove ll.

These racks M are removably held in position in any desired or suitablemanner. A simple and efficient means is disclosed in Figures 3, 4 and 5,and consists essentially of a substantially U shaped member itconstructed of any suitable resilient material having an inherenttendency to cause the longitudinal edges of the element to separate.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 3, the element It is seatedin the groove ll preferably to rest upon the bottom thereof and theedges ll project into recesses [8 in the lower face of the portion ofthe rack members M which project into the groove I I so that after theracks M are placed in position in the recesses l2, the edges ll of themember I6 may be pressed towards each other so as to allow the fasteningelement l6 to be inserted in the groove l l between the toothed edges ofthe rack members l4 and beneath the projecting portions of the rackmembers. When in this position and when the member I6 is released itsinherent resiliency will cause the edges I! to separate and they willthen enter the recesses IS in the lower faces of the rack members l4 andfrictionally hold them in position.

If desired and in order to prevent the fastening members I6 from movinglongitudinally in the groove II, any suitable anchoring means may beprovided, such for instance as a center punch prick l9 to engage thebottom I3 of the groove l I.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 5, the rack members 20 areof a substantially inverted L shaped configuration, the body portion ofthe rack members being seated in recesses 2| opening through the sidewalls of the groove II. The face 22 of the rack member projects beyondthe side walls of the groove so as to form a shoulder with the toothcarrying portion 23. In this form of the invention the securing element[5 when placed in position, will rest upon the bottom l3 of the grooveand the edges I! will engage the shoulder of the rack members 20 andwill project under the overhanging tooth carrying portion of the rackmembers.

Thus it will be seen that the rack members will be frictionally butremovably held in position.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 6 and '7 the securingmember comprises a body por tion 24 provided with upwardly projectingspring arms 25, the upper extremities of these arms being preferablyrounded or cut away as at 26.

In inserting this form of fastening means the arms 25 are pressedtowards each other and the fastening member is placed into the groovell, so that they will extend in general directions lengthwise of thegroove. The arms 25 are of such a length that when the body portion 24rests upon the base H! of the groove H, the upper extremities of thearms will be below the portions of the rack members 28 which carry theteeth 23 and which overhang the groove I l. The fastening member is thenaxially rotated so that the arms 25 will extend transversely of thegroove 1 I, and when the arms are released their inherent resiliencywill cause them to separate, resulting in the upper extremities of thearms passing beneath the shoulders 21 formed by the overhanging portionof the rack.

The fastening member 24 may be axially rotated in any suitable manner,but a simple and efiicient means for accomplishing this result comprisesan opening 28 in the bottom or body of the fastening member, which isangular in cross section, and which is adapted to receive a suitabletool or implement for accomplishing the rotary movement both into andout of locking position. In this form of the invention and. when it isdesired to remove the fastening means, it is only necessary to axiallyrotate the same until the extremities of the arm 25 pass from beneaththe shoulders 21.

In the forms of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 5, the fasteningmembers I6 may be removed by pressing the edges I'I towards each otherin any suitable manner.

After these fastening devices have been removed it will be manifest thatthe rack section may be readily removed. The rack members are preferablymade in sections arranged end to end and one or more of the fasteningmembers may be provided for each rack section, according to the lengthof the fastening members and of the rack sections.

The rack sections are set into the walls of the grooves and arranged endto end, and the fastening members are spaced in the grooves, one or morefor each rack section.

Each of the fastening members secures. opposed rack sections in positionwhen a rack member is arranged along each side of the groove. However,should the rack member be arranged along one side of the groove only,then each of the fastening members will co-operate with the oppositewall of the groove to hold the rack section in position.

Should a rack section break or be otherwise injured, necessitatingrepair, the fastening mem bers are moved lengthwise of the grooves andbeneath an adjacent rack section unitl the injured rack section is free.The injured rack section may then be removed, through the top of thegroove, if desired, and a new rack bar inserted. The fastening memberwhich has been displaced to permit removal of the rack section may thenbe moved back into normal position, and the rack member which has beeninserted will be locked against displacement.

The upstruck portion IS on the fastening member l G will operate to holdthe fastening member against creeping'longitudinally of the groove, butwhen it is desired to shift the fastening member lengthwise of thegroove, the portion I9 will yield to permit such movement.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7 isthe same as that described in connection with the form shown in Figures3 and 5, but in this form of the invention, the fastening members areplaced into locking and ulnlocking position by axially rotating the sameso as to cause the end of the arms 25 to pass out from beneath theshoulders or overhanging portions of the rack members. When thefastening member 24 has been rotated to the dotted line position shownin Figure 6, it may be moved longitudinally in the groove or may beentirely removed, if desired.

Any suitable means (not shown) may be provided for preventing the rackmembers from creeping longitudinally in the grooves, if it is 4 foundnecessary to provide means in addition to the friction or stress createdby the resiliency of the fastening elements It and 24.

While the preferred forms of the invention have beenherein shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various changes may be made inthe details of construction and in the combination and arrangement ofthe several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departingfrom the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:-

1. A printing pl'ate'base having a groove therein, sectional rackmembers in the side walls of the groove, saidfmembers spaced asubstantial distance above the bottom of the groove, and means securingthe sections in position and for free and independent removal from thegroove, said means contacting the groove bottom and a face of the racksection, said rack members being supported in the groove independentlyof said securing means.

2. A printing plate base having a groove therein, sectional rack membersin the side walls of the groove and arranged end to end, said membersspaced a substantial distance above the bottom of the groove, and meansdisposed within the groove individual to and between opposite racksection members for securing them in position for free removal from thegroove, said means contacting the groove bottom and an adjacent face of75 the rack, and said rack members being supported in the grooveindependently of said securing means.

3. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members in theside Walls of the groove, and spring elements disposed between the rackmembers and within the groove for removably securing said members inposition.

4. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members in theside walls of the groove, means securing the rack members in positionand for free removal from the groove, and means entirely within thegroove for maintaining the first said means against movementlongitudinally of the groove.

5. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members in theside Walls of the groove, means securing the rack members in positionand for free removal from the groove, and means yieldingly anchoring thefirst said means against movement longitudinally of the groove.

6. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members set intothe side walls of the groove and spaced a substantial distance above thebottom of the groove, a portion of said members overhanging andprojecting beyond the side walls of the groove, and means within thegroove and engaging said projecting portion and exerting only a lateralstress upon the rack members, for securing them in position and for freeremoval of the rack members, said rack members being maintained inposition in the groove inde-- pendently of said securing means.

'7. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members set intothe side walls of the groove, a portion of said members overhanging thegroove, and spaced a substantial distance above the bottom of thegroove, and means Within the groove engaging said overhanging portionand exerting a lateral stress on said rack members for securing them inposition and for free removal of the rack members through the top of thegroove, said rack members being maintained in position independently ofthe securing means.

8. A printing plate base having a groove therein, sectional rack membersset into the side walls of the groove a substantial distance above thebottom of the groove, and means exerting only a lateral stress upon saidsections for removably securing them in position independently of eachother, whereby one or more sections may be removed while the remainingsections remain intact in the groove, said rack members being maintainedin position entirely independently of the said securing means.

9. A printing plate base having a groove therein, sectional rack membersset into the side walls of the grooves a substantial distance above thebottom of the groove and arranged end to end, and means for removablysecuring the sections of the rack members in position comprising lockingmembers movable longitudinally of the groove out of engagement with apredetermined rack section to permit the latter to be removed while thesecuring means remains in the groove, said locking members exerting onlya lateral stress upon said rack members.

10. A printing plate base having a groove therein, sectional rackmembers set into the side walls of the groove, and means for removablysecuring the sections of the rack members in position comprising lockingmembers movable longitudinally of the groove out of engagement with apredetermined rack section to permit the latter to be removed while theremaining rack sections remain intact and the securing means remains inthe groove, said locking members exerting only a lateral stress on saidrack members.

11. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members formedof sections arranged end to end and set into the side Walls of thegroove, and securing members within the grooves and arranged betweenopposed rack sections for removably securing them in position, saidsecuring members exerting only a lateral stress on said rack members andbeing movable longitudinally of the grooves out of engagement withpredetermined rack sections to permit the latter to be freely removedfrom the groove.

12. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members formedof sections arranged end to end and set into the side walls of thegroove a substantial distance above the bottomof the groove, andsecuring members within the grooves and arranged between opposed racksections for removably securing them in position, said securing membersexerting only a lateral stress on said rack members and being movablelongitudinally of the grooves out of engagement with predetermined racksections to permit the latter to be freely removed from the groove andthrough the top thereof while the remaining rack sections remain intactin the groove.

13. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members formedof sections arranged end to end and set into the side walls of thegroove, and securing members Within the grooves and arranged betweenopposed rack sections for removably securing them in position, saidsecuring members exerting only a lateral stress on said rack members andbeing individual to the sections and movable longitudinally of thegrooves out of engagement with predetermined rack sections, to permitthe latter to be freely removed from the groove and through the topthereof while the remaining rack sections remain intact and the securingmember remains in the groove.

14. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack sections setinto the wall of the groove for free removal therefrom and arranged endto end, and fastening members for the rack sections, said fasteningmembers providing a structure adapted to be placed under tension andinserted into the grooveand to expand when positioned in the groove forholding the rack sections in position.

15. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack sections setinto the wall of the groove for free removal therefrom and arranged endto end, and fastening members for the rack sections, said fasteningmembers providing a structure adapted to be placed under tension andinserted into the groove and to expand when positioned in the groove forholding the rack sections in position said fastening members adapted tobe moved lengthwise of the groove out of securing position with its racksection to permit the latter to be freely removed from. the groove.

16. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a rack recessed intothe wall of the groove, the bottom of the recess being spaced for asubstantial distance above the bottom of the groove, and fastening meansfor removably securing the rack in position, said fastening meansproviding a structure positioned within the groove and embodying meansoperating to exert a lateral pressure only upon the rack, and adaptedfor displacement upon the groove bottom with respect to the rack torelease the latter and remaining in the groove While the rack is removedfrom the groove.

17. A printing plate base having a groove there in, a rack set into thewall of the groove a substantial distance above the bottom of thegroove, and fastening means for removably securing the rack in position,said rack being supported independently of the fastening means, and saidfastening means providing a structure arranged entirely within thegroove and removably engaging the rack, and exerting only a lateralstress upon the rack.

18. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a rack set into thewall of the groove, and fastening means for removably securing the rackin position, said rack being supported independently of said fasteningmeans, said fastening means providing a structure arranged entirelywithin the groove, exerting only a lateral stress upon, and removablyengaging the rack, and being freely removable from the grooveindependently with respect to the rack through the top of the groove andwhile the rack remains intact in the groove.

19. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a separate rack setinto the wall of and supported a substantial distance above the bottomof the groove, and means for removably securing the rack in position,said rack being sup ported independently of said securing means, andsaid securing means being removable through the top of the groove whilethe rack remains intact in the groove.

20. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a separate rack setinto the wall of said groove, and a normally distended fastening elementadapted to be contracted for insertion into the groove, said fasteningelement expanding in the groove and engaging the rack.

21. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a separate rack setinto the wall of said groove, a normally distended fastening elementadapted to be contracted for insertion into the groove, said fasteningelement expanding in the groove and engaging the rack, and means formaintaining said element against movement lengthwise of the groove.

22. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a separate rack setinto the wall of said groove, a normally distended fastening elementadapted to be contracted for insertion into the groove, said fasteningelement expanding in the groove and engaging the rack, and means foryieldingly restraining the fastening means against movement lengthwiseof the groove.

23, A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack means within thegroove, and a normally expanded clip adapted to be contracted andinserted into and removable from the groove through the top thereof,said clip expanding in the groove to hold the rack means in position.

24. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack means within thegroove, a clip insertable into and removable from the groove through thetop thereof, said clip being rotatable Within the groove, and said clipexpanding in the groove to hold the rack means in position.

25. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack means within thegroove, a clip insertable into and. removable from the groove throughthe top thereof, said clip being rotatable Within the groove, and saidclip expanding in the groove to hold the rack means in position, saidrack means being supported in the groove entirely independent of thesaid clip.

26. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a separate rack setinto the wall of said groove, and a normally distended fastening elementadapted to be contracted for insertion into the groove, said fasteningelement expanding in the groove and engaging the rack, said rack beingsupported in the groove independently of said fastening element.

2'7. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members withinthe groove, and normally distended fastening means adapted to beretracted and inserted into and removable from the'groove, saidfastening means being distended in the groove to hold the rack means inposition.

28. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a rack member alongthe side wall of the groove, and distendable means within the groove forremovably holding the rack member in position.

29. A printing plate supporting element having a groove, rack meanswithin said groove, and resilient means Within said groove independentof and adapted to hold the rack means in position, said resilient meansbeing bodily movable in the groove independently of the rack means.

30. A printing plate supporting element having a groove, a rack, meansremovably securing said rack within the groove a substantial distanceabove the bottom of the groove, said means being bodily movable withinthe groove and independently of the rack.

31. A printing plate base having a groove therein, a rack set into thewall of the groove, and fastening means for removably securing the rackin position, said fastening means providing a structure arrangedentirely within the groove, removably engaging'the rack, said rack beingmaintained in operating position in the groove independently of the saidsecuring means.

32. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members onopposite sides of the groove, and a substantially U shaped memberengaging said racks above the bottom thereof for removably securing theracks in position.

33. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack members onopposite sides of the groove, and a substantially U shaped memberengaging said racks above the bottom thereof for removably securing theracks in position, said U shaped member being removable through the topof the groove while the rack remains intact in the groove.

34. A printing plate base having a groove therein, rack means within thegroove, a clip insertable into and removable from the groove through thetop thereof, said clip expanding in the groove to hold the rack means inposition, said rack means being supported in the groove entirelyindependent of said clip.

W. F. BRUGMANN.

